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The school, day care centre and child health clinic will be a multi-professional workplace for different occupational groups, cooperating and interacting with the pupils, parents and residents of the area.

New Aurora school building to be the most energy-efficient municipal building in Espoo

The Aurora school was built in Lippajärvi in 1957 and expanded in 1980. The school building was later demolished, and a new building is being constructed, which will also house a day care centre and a child health clinic. The new building will replace the old, impractical facilities. It was not possible to renovate them to be accessible facilities that meet modern requirements. The topping out took place on 21 March 2016.

The new building is the most energy-efficient municipal building in Espoo

The three-storey construction is a pilot project for an almost energy self-sufficient building. This is accomplished through energy-efficient architectural and construction engineering solutions and the use of renewable energy.

The architectural engineering is as simple as possible. The passive frame will reduce the need for heating technology in the building, which is well-insulated, especially in regard to perforations and seams. The average need for heating power is about 20 W/m2. Renewable energy will be utilised through solar panels, aligned on the roof at an angle of about 45 degrees to the south. The energy-efficiency class of the building is A (E rating is 77 kWh/m²a).

Natural light will be utilised as much as possible, and overheating caused by sunlight will be prevented with external protection. Energy-efficient lights will be used, controlled with motion detectors, and also with daylight control in facilities that utilise daylight.

In regard to air conditioning, it is crucial to divide the building into different zones on the basis of purpose and operating hours. The zones consist of areas with similar methods of use and similar operating hours. Each zone has its own air conditioning machine. In this way, different facilities will get enough air when they are operating.

“Statements on the new energy-efficiency regulations are currently being drawn up. The new regulations will apply to planning permission applications received after 1 January 2018. If the regulations take effect with the proposed content, the initial estimate is that the new Aurora building will clearly meet the new requirements”, says Maija Lehtinen, managing director of the Premises Department of the City of Espoo.

Community-oriented village centre

The new school building for 340 pupils, the day care centre for 126 children, and the child health clinic have been built on the Aurora school plot, where the old school buildings, a temporary school building and a residential building have been demolished. Implementing the school, day care centre and child health clinic as a single unit will create a community-oriented village centre in Lippajärvi, where children can grow from babies to pre-teens in a familiar environment.

Espoo residents will have access to the village centre facilities, such as the gym, in the evenings and at the weekend. The shared spaces of the school and day care centre, as well as the special classrooms and library of the school, can also be used outside school hours.

The school, day care centre and child health clinic will be a multi-professional workplace for different occupational groups, cooperating and interacting with the pupils, parents and residents of the area. The shared building of the school and day care centre will enable seamless cooperation between preschool and elementary teaching. The cooperation will also be boosted by the child health clinic being located on the same premises.

According to Kaisu Toivonen, director of education, it is magnificent that the new Aurora school building will be completed soon. The school has always actively contributed to developing learning and the recreational activities of the pupils. Aurora considers regional operations and cooperation between homes and the school to be important, and the new building will provide better preconditions for that.

Construction commenced in February 2015. The building will be completed in July 2016 and will be taken into use in August 2016. The value of the project is about €21 million and the project volume is 7,300 m3.